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The Trump administration harshly criticized the United Kingdom over its handling of mass immigration and the long-running rape gang scandal that has victimized white girls across the country.

In a statement posted to X, the U.S. State Department called on its Europe-based diplomats to track the effects of rampant immigration. While the statement zeroed in on the U.K., it also highlighted similar problems in Germany and Sweden.

‘The State Department instructed U.S. embassies to report on the human rights implications and public safety impacts of mass migration,’ the statement read. ‘Officials will also report policies that punish citizens who object to continued mass migration and document crimes and human rights abuses committed by people of a migration background.’

The statement referenced the so-called ‘grooming gangs’ made up of mostly Pakistani men who have victimized young girls for decades, with little action taken by the government.

‘In the United Kingdom, thousands of girls have been victimized in Rotherham, Oxford, and Newcastle by grooming gangs involving migrant men,’ the State Department said. ‘Many girls were left to suffer unspeakable abuse for years before authorities stepped in.’

A day after the statement, GB News reported that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters at the G20 in South Africa that the national inquiry would ‘leave no stone unturned.’

The State Department’s warning comes weeks after several victims — who were members of the independent inquiry — resigned over what they claimed was a continuation of a cover-up. 

One abuse survivor, Ellie Reynolds, told cable channel GMB that the existence of grooming gangs has been ‘brushed under the carpet’ and that ‘our voices have been silenced.’

She was supported by fellow survivor Fiona Goddard, who was groomed from the age of 14, and said that when she spoke out for help she was dismissed as a ‘child prostitute’ by authorities.

Goddard resigned to protest the cover-up, saying members of the grooming gangs near Bradford were in the ‘vast majority … Pakistani men.’

Successive governments — both Conservative and Labour — have been dealing with the revelations for years that a number of grooming gangs, often consisting mostly of men of South Asian or Pakistani heritage, have sexually exploited girls for decades across the north of England.

Prior to the inquiry, Starmer had commissioned a national audit led by Baroness Louise Casey earlier this year. 

On the hot-button issue of the backgrounds of the criminals, the Casey report stated in part, ‘We found that the ethnicity of perpetrators is shied away from and is still not recorded for two-thirds of perpetrators, so we are unable to provide any accurate assessment from the nationally collected data.’

It continued: ‘Despite the lack of a full picture in the national data sets, there is enough evidence available in local police data in three police force areas which we examined which show disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds amongst suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation, as well as in the significant number of perpetrators of Asian ethnicity identified in local reviews and high-profile child sexual exploitation prosecutions across the country, to at least warrant further examination.’

Her audit also identified other perpetrators, including White British, European, African or Middle Eastern individuals.

The results of the audit produced 12 recommendations to the government, which have been implemented, including a national inquiry to ‘direct local investigations and hold institutions to account for past failures.’ 

But the Starmer government has been set back by a failure to appoint a chair for the inquiry, and it has faced resignations as critics have accused the Labour government of covering it up for political reasons.

Alan Mendoza, founder of the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that ‘successive governments’ have allowed ‘gangs of largely South Asian Muslims to target white British girls, claiming, ‘the Labour government doesn’t want to be seen as stigmatizing demographics or potentially losing votes.’

‘I hope that the inquiry will focus more specifically on the real issue plaguing the U.K. over the last 20 years,’ Mendoza added.

The point person for the government’s inquiry is Labour member of Parliament Jess Phillips, who has served as the parliamentary undersecretary of state for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls since July 2024.

However, Phillips is facing heavy scrutiny over how she’s handling the set-up of the inquiry.

Asked in Parliament about the nature of the inquiry and whether it will address the perpetrators’ ethnicity, she vowed to be transparent.

‘There is absolutely no sense that ethnicity will be buried away,’ Phillips said. ‘Every single time that there is an apparently needless delay — even though it took seven months to put in place chairs for both the COVID inquiry and the blood inquiry, and nobody moaned about that — it gets used to say that we want to cover something up. That is the misinformation I am talking about. It will not cover things up. We are taking time to ensure that that can never happen.’

Elon Musk weighed in on the matter in a series of X statements earlier this year, stating that Phillips, was a ‘rape genocide apologist’ and the world was witnessing ‘the worst mass crime against the people of Britain ever.’ 

Philips told the BBC that his comments were ‘disinformation’ and ‘endangering’ her, but said it was nothing compared to what the victims of the abuse had faced. 

Commentators say the challenge for the government now is to find those credible and willing to bring justice and lasting change so it won’t happen again.

Fox News Digital reached out to Phillips’ office but received no response.
 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

The first Power Four conference championship game matchup is set.

It will be Texas Tech vs. Brigham Young in the 2025 Big 12 championship game on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The matchup was determined before either team played their regular season finale on Saturday, Nov. 29 thanks to Arizona State losing to Arizona in the battle of the Territorial Cup the day prior. Both teams head into Week 14 with a 7-1 conference record, and while Utah is behind them at 7-2, the Red Raiders and Cougars each own the head-to-head matchup over the Utes to ensure their spots in the Big 12 title game.

It will be a first for whoever wins the Big 12 championship as both teams will be making their first appearance in the conference title game.

The winner of the Texas Tech vs. BYU will clinch the automatic spot to the College Football Playoff. Texas Tech is No. 5 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings and BYU is No. 11.

They met in Week 11 earlier this season in Lubbock, with Texas Tech putting up a dominant defensive performance in a 29-7 win over the Cougars. Heading into Week 14, it’s the only game BYU has lost this season.

Big 12 football standings through Week 14

Here are the Big 12 standings heading into Saturday, Nov. 29:

T-1. Texas Tech (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) *conference championship game clinched
T-1. BYU (10-1, 7-1) *conference championship game clinched
3. Utah (10-2, 7-2)
T4. Arizona (9-3, 6-3)
T-4. Arizona State (8-4, 6-3)
T-5. Houston (8-3, 5-3)
T-5. Cincinnati (7-4, 5-3)
T-8. Iowa State (7-4, 4-4)
T-8. TCU (7-4, 4-4)
T-8. Kansas State (5-6, 4-4)
11. Baylor (5-6, 3-5)
12. Kansas (5-7, 3-6)
T-13. UCF (5-6, 2-6)
T-13. West Virginia (4-7, 2-6)
15. Colorado (3-8, 1-7)
16. Oklahoma State (1-10, 0-8)

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Texas football welcomed Mike Elko to his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day on Black Friday.

As the Longhorns took the final kneels to secure a 27-17 win over Texas A&M to knock the Aggies out of the land of unbeaten college football teams, the video board at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas trolled Elko.

Texas played a short clip of Elko calling Texas A&M ‘the flagship program of the state’ last year, with a voiceover saying ‘Sike’ about his comments. That was met by loud cheers from the fans as Texas earned the win.

It only got worse for Elko from there. Following the loss, he lost his cool during his press conference over the noise of the Longhorns celebrating their win over the Aggies.

The loss for Texas A&M knocked to rival Texas knocked it out of the SEC Championship game.

‘Can we close the door and run a professional press conference?’ Elko asked mid-answer.

The good news for Elko and the Aggies: They closed out the season with an 11-1 record, including a 7-1 record in SEC play. Texas A&M has secured a spot in the College Football Playoff and, barring a major upset, should at least have a home first-round game, if not a bye in the opening round.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Munetaka Murakami is one of the more polarizing players available this winter, a record-setting Japanese power hitter set to cross the Pacific facing questions about his ability to translate his gaudy numbers to Major League Baseball.

Posted by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Murakami has until Dec. 22 to agree to terms with an MLB team.

The 25-year-old has been one of Japan’s most prolific hitters since debuting as a teenager in 2018. His best year was 2022 when he hit 56 home runs with 134 RBIs, a .318 average and a 1.168 OPS. Murakami won his second Central League MVP award that season, going back-to-back after picking up the hardware – and a Japan Series title – in 2021.

His 56 home runs in 2022 remains the NPB record for a Japanese-born player, surpassing Sadaharu Oh’s previous record of 55 set in 1964. Murakami has primarily played third base, but the left-handed hitter has 266 NPB games at first base and could be used at both corners in addition to designated hitter in MLB.

Murakami played only 69 games in 2025, but his 29.5% strikeout rate in 2024 would have ranked among the 10 worst in MLB, striking out 180 times in 610 plate appearances.

Here are four potential suitors for Murakami:

New York Yankees

There are question marks around the infield for the Yankees, who surely would love to upgrade over Ryan McMahon at third base. You probably don’t want Murakami at the hot corner every day, but he wouldn’t struggle for at-bats and could fit into a nice rotation with McMahon and Ben Rice at first base.

A nine-figure deal for Murakami would look pretty bad in the worst-case scenario, but the Yankees can afford to take the risk on a player who could also turn out to be one of the most prolific power hitters in the game in a best-case scenario.

Chicago Cubs

Matt Shaw and Moises Ballesteros may become good players but Chicago needs to seize on this window in the NL Central and add a high-upside power hitter. 

The Cubs have had recent success with Japanese imports Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga, meaning they may be less gun-shy on Murakami than other suitors. And Murakami may end up signing a deal similar to the five-year, $85 million contract the Cubs signed Suzuki to before the 2022 season.

San Francisco Giants 

Buster Posey is doing something or other in San Francisco and bringing in another slugging-type would certainly take some of the pressure off Rafael Devers and Willy Adames – who struggled in his first year with the Giants but became the club’s first 30-homer man since Barry Bonds.

Perhaps new manager Tony Vitello could have.Murakami and Devers split time at first base and DH? The Giants will probably continue to fail landing the most elite free agents, but Murakami is the tier that San Francisco needs to be targeting after a four-year postseason drought.

New York Mets

This is where Murakami’s Dec. 22 posting deadline makes things interesting. Will the Mets have a resolution on Pete Alonso before Christmas? If he leaves, how will the club replace the Polar Bear-sized hole in the lineup? 

David Stearns and Co. are making run prevention a priority this winter, but DH looks to be a huge need – with or without Alonso – and Murakami could slot in there.

How the Mets rate Mark Vientos also figures into the equation, with the 25-year-old coming off a disappointing season. 

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

A reporter describes his personal observations about quarterback Shedeur Sanders during his tenure at Colorado.
The quarterback is known for his celebratory ‘watch flex’ and has a flair for showmanship, similar to his father, Deion Sanders.
Concerns for his NFL career include a tendency to hold onto the ball too long and a history of back injuries.

In the final weeks of his final college season at Colorado in 2024, I got the chance to ask quarterback Shedeur Sanders a certain question about his craft.

This was on Nov. 21, 2024. I would end up watching every one of his 24 starts at Colorado and covered 17 of them in person, plus two spring intrasquad games. In this case, I wanted to know what he had learned from the private quarterback trainer he worked with to improve his game.

His answer provided a glimpse into the kind of player he is. It’s also one of 15 personal observations to share about him now as he takes a bigger stage again, this time as he makes his second NFL start for the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 30 against the San Francisco 49ers.

1. He’s super-serious about his craft

This especially showed when I asked what his private trainer Darrell Colbert Jr., meant to his development as a player. “Everything,” Sanders replied. The rest of his answer showed how important it is for him to work on little details year-round on his own time and dime.

He said it started off with Colbert watching old videos from his days in Jackson State, then working with him on his throwing motion and footwork. “Everything changed,” Sanders said. “Everything’s better. Footwork’s better overall… We just cleaned up a lot of things, just overstriding and tidying up everything.”

2. He’s a good kid, man

He’s always been polite and gracious with reporters, even if they’re kept at a distance in controlled settings. One time in April 2024, I watched him oblige fans at a restaurant in Boulder by posing for pictures with them and even signing autographs on one man’s cheek and another’s bald head.

3. He’s having fun and confident, not arrogant

Some social media critics might have had their sensibilities offended by what he said on CBS before and after his starting debut on Sunday in Las Vegas. ‘I’m who they been looking for,” Shedeur Sanders said before the game after being asked what he hoped to show his team and fans.

It might have sounded to some like he was calling himself the Browns’ savior, but so what? He believes in himself and doesn’t mind putting pressure on himself like that. Isn’t that better than him saying he thought he’d be the next Browns flop?  As his father Deion Sanders says, “Don’t let my confidence offend your insecurity.”

4. He should have been a first-round draft pick

He fell to the fifth round in the NFL draft in April, and five other quarterbacks were picked before him. But there’s no way all five of those players are better than him — and not just because of his accuracy, which was 71.8% in major college football, ranking as the highest ever with a minimum of 875 attempts, according to sports-reference.com.

NFL teams have been historically terrible at forecasting a quarterback’s ability and sometimes overlook a player’s talent for other bad reasons.

5. He’s ‘Grown’

That’s what his father nicknamed him because of uncommonly premature maturity. He doesn’t seem to get angry or ruffled. It showed in his team’s 24-10 win on Sunday when he said afterward he felt “very relaxed” for his starting debut. His father said this week on the ‘Colorado Football Coaches Show’ that Shedeur has been analyzing opposing defenses since age 7. At the same time, he’s only 23 and still might be prone to getting speeding tickets.

6. His watch flex is celebratory and sometimes edgy

This is his signature celebration move. He did it again after beating the Raiders, raising his wrist to the crowd and leading Browns fans to go wild. He said in 2023 he came up with the move on his own spontaneously, creating a cultural moment that soon could reignite. Some have interpreted it as unsportsmanlike at times, like when he flexed to the Arizona State student section after a win in 2023. But those same fans had chanted ‘overrated’ at him earlier.

7. He’s coachable and adapts

He’s had seven offensive coordinators since his first year of college in 2021: Michael Pollock, Jason Phillips, T.C. Taylor and Brett Bartolone at Jackson State, followed by Sean Lewis and Pat Shurmur at Colorado. Now it’s Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees calling plays for Cleveland.

8. He does need to work on some things

He is known to hold onto the ball too long for the same reason people mistakenly think he’s arrogant — because he believes in himself to make a play. I can’t unsee that time in the Alamo Bowl last year when he kept going backward trying to make a play on 3rd-and-3 from the BYU 7-yard line. He ended up getting sacked for a 23-yard loss, forcing his team to settle for a field goal.

9. He’s a tough SOP (Son of Prime)

His team gave up the second-most quarterback sacks in the nation in 2023 (56) and got better in 2024 but still gave up the most sacks in the Big 12 Conference (43). That’s a lot of beatings for a quarterback, but isn’t that kind of what the NFL wants — a quarterback who shows he can take it and get back up for the next play?

10. His back might be an issue

This is the obvious downside to those beatings. He missed his final game in 2023 because he had a fractured back. He downplayed it, but I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a “minor” broken back. He also recently had some issues with his back in Cleveland.

11. Appearance matters to him

And there’s a good reason for it. As his father says, if you look good, you feel good. And if you feel good, you play good. After he beat TCU in his first game for Colorado in 2023, he made sure there was no food stuck in his teeth before talking to reporters. Before appearing at a pop-up retail event in Boulder as a college student in 2024, he pulled up in a Tesla Cybertruck and parked right in front before making his grand entrance in the crowded restaurant.

12. He’s a showman

He is his father’s son in this regard, but he’s less flamboyant than this father. Besides his confident statements, he’s still got the watch flex, the cars, the jewelry and even his personal “Legendary” merchandise with a dollar-sign logo. It’s all part of that persona that he inherited from the master of marketing and endorsement deals — his dad. Self-promotion is smart for business.

13. He knows the Tom Brady story

He also knows Tom Brady, the legendary NFL quarterback. Brady fell to the sixth round of the NFL draft in 2000 before winning seven Super Bowls. Shedeur fell to the fifth round in April. Brady didn’t get a chance to start a game until the previous starter was knocked out of a game with an injury in 2001. Shedeur didn’t get his first chance to start until the previous starter also was knocked out with an injury. It doesn’t mean he’ll win seven Super Bowls, but it does add fuel to his dreams.

14. He might be his father’s favorite in one respect

Deion Sanders has two daughters and three sons. He likes to rank his children from time to time even if he really loves them the same. Shedeur is his youngest son and the first to play in an NFL game, which undeniably delighted the father this week. The Pro Football Hall of Famer was still gushing about it Nov. 25 even though his team is 3-8 this season.

15. He’s built for this

Combine his father’s genes and mentorship with Shedeur’s personal dedication to his craft. Add that to his previous success, toughness, accuracy and willingness to be coached.

What’s the sum of all of that?

An NFL starting quarterback who’s just getting started.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Ohio State star wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are available for today’s rivalry game at Michigan.

‘They’re going. They’ve done an unbelievable job this week, and they weren’t going to let this game go by without getting in,’ Buckeyes coach Ryan Day told Fox’s Jenny Taft ahead of today’s The Game.

The Buckeyes listed their two injured stars as questionable on their availability report submitted to the Big Ten. Day suggested earlier this week Smith and Tate were available to practice, but he declined to address their availability for The Game.

Smith and Tate sat out the Buckeyes’ win over Rutgers last weekend as they continued to manage unspecified injuries.

Tate last made an appearance for the Buckeyes in a win over Penn State Nov. 1. He was pulled from warmups the following week at Purdue and has remained unavailable this month.

Smith had not been out until last week, though he saw limited snaps in a rout of UCLA on Nov. 15. He caught four passes for 40 yards against the Bruins before leaving early in the second quarter.

Smith conveyed optimism about his return this week when he joined safety Caleb Downs on his podcast and mentioned that he “should be good to go” against the Wolverines.

Few are as valuable to the Buckeyes’ offense as Smith, a dominant pass catcher who had 69 receptions for 902 yards and 10 touchdowns through 10 games and been a favorite target for quarterback Julian Sayin. He was named one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top wide receiver earlier this week.

The combined absences of Smith and Tate was noticeable last week against the Scarlet Knights as Ohio State’s wide receivers combined for just four catches for 33 yards. Max Klare, a tight end who transferred from Purdue, led the Buckeyes with seven catches for 105 yards.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Texas’s victory over No. 3 Texas A&M has complicated the College Football Playoff selection process.
The Longhorns’ 9-3 record and tough schedule present a strong case, despite losses to teams like Florida.
Rejecting Texas could discourage teams from scheduling difficult nonconference opponents in the future.

The College Football Playoff committee just got a tummy ache, and not from eating too many Thanksgiving leftovers. No. 16 Texas strained the committee’s bracket by gobbling up No. 3 Texas A&M, 27-17.

The crowded bubble just gained another team.

Texas’ second-half dominance of the Aggies should force the committee to look at the Longhorns with fresh eyes.

‘We were physical. We were tough,’ Sarkisian said on ABC afterward.

On this night, Texas (9-3) resembled a playoff-caliber team.

Arch Manning makes enough big plays, Marcel Reed struggles

Boy, imagine the retraction the New York Times must consider if Arch Manning and Texas qualify for the playoff. Weeks ago, the Gray Lady questioned whether Manning is the first flop in college football history. Holy hyperbole!

Manning didn’t play great in this one, but he outplayed Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, whose longshot Heisman Trophy hopes went poof. Reed threw two interceptions. Manning supplied two touchdowns.

Jekyll-and-Hyde Texas remains good at home, and vulnerable on the road.

I’m not convinced Texas is a top-10 team, and it will need to be ranked among the committee’s 10-best teams to earn an at-large bid.

I am convinced that if Texas had scheduled a home game against Slappy University in Week 1 instead of a road game against defending national champion Ohio State, the committee would believe Texas is a top-10 team.

Because, with a win against Slappy U. replacing a 14-7 loss against the Buckeyes, Texas would be 10-2.

And a 10-2 record that culminated with a win against previously undefeated Texas A&M would equal a playoff bid.

‘It would be a disservice to our sport if this team’s not a playoff team, when we went and scheduled that non-conference game (at Ohio State),’ Sarkisian said. ‘Because, if we’re a 10-2 team, that’s not a question.’

Therein lies the pitfall in the committee rejecting Texas.

Rejecting the Longhorns because of their record would warn teams against scheduling tough non-conference opponents. Unless the committee changes its ways, the juice of scheduling tough non-conference opponents simply isn’t worth the squeeze, unfortunately.

Does Texas win strain Notre Dame for CFP bracket?

If Texas isn’t a playoff team, then what’s Texas A&M? The Aggies have a better record than Texas, but an inferior schedule.

Texas A&M is in no real danger of missing the playoff, though. The Aggies (11-1) beat committee darling Notre Dame, and although their schedule doesn’t grade as tough as Texas’ compilation, it’s no joke.

The playoff committee has spoken on the great Notre Dame-Miami debate, but now it needs to consider a Notre Dame-Texas debate. The Irish don’t match Texas’ number of quality wins. The Irish failed to beat Texas A&M. The Irish, though, have a better record than Texas, and they didn’t lose to eight-loss Florida.

And that’s where Texas gets tripped up. Qualifying for the playoff revolves around a three-step process.

1. Never lose.

2. If you must lose, don’t lose to bad teams.

3. If you must lose to good teams, don’t get blown out.

Texas lost to a team with a 3-8 record. It lost one too many times. And it got blown out by Georgia, even if the game was close for three quarters.

The Longhorns wouldn’t win a beauty pageant, and, at 9-3, they’d be the first three-loss at-large qualifier in playoff history. Those are a pair of warts, considering the committee usually defaults to record in the rankings, and a team’s subjective “eye test” wields big influence on the committee.

Texas aces neither the eye test nor the record test.

‘Is that what college football is about, to not play anybody and just have a good record?” Sarkisian said.

Unfortunately for Sarkisian and Texas, that’s usually what college football is about: Win the beauty pageant and build a premier record, no matter how meek the schedule.

But, if the playoff is to become an exercise of rewarding teams that can beat other top teams, then Texas should be in the field. The Longhorns own wins against three teams that are ranked in the top 15 of the most recent CFP rankings. If it’s to be about valuing strength of record and strength of schedule, Texas fares well in that conversation, too.

If it’s mostly an exercise of win-loss record, then Slappy U. is going to stay awfully busy with scheduling requests.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

COPPER MOUNTAIN, CO – After two days of being a spectator, it’s finally Mikaela Shiffrin’s turn to race at the Copper Mountain World Cup.

The giant slalom, the first of the two women’s races, is Saturday, Nov. 29, at Copper, and Shiffrin said Friday she’s excited to race on the mountain she knows so well. The all-time World Cup wins leader and many other U.S. skiers often train at Copper Mountain in the spring.

Here’s how to watch Saturday’s GS race at Copper Mountain:

When is the giant slalom at the Copper Mountain World Cup?

Overnight snow has pushed back the start of the giant slalom race at the World Cup at Copper Mountain by 30 minutes. The first run now begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 29, and the second run begins at 1:30 p.m.

When does Mikaela Shiffrin race?

Mikaela Shiffrin starts 17th in the first run of the giant slalom. Her start position in the second run will be determined by her finish in the first run.

What about Paula Moltzan and the other Americans?

Paula Moltzan, who was the silver medalist in the first giant slalom of the season, starts third, behind Sweden’s Sara Hector and Albania’s Lara Colturi. Nina O’Brien starts ninth and Elisabeth Bocock goes 24th.

The U.S. team also has three skiers starting late in the field: Tricia Mangan (49th), Keely Cashman (50th) and Kjersti Moritz (52nd). This is the first World Cup start for the 21-year-old Moritz.

How the giant slalom race works

The top skiers go first in the first run, and the top 30 qualify for the second run. The finish order of the first run is then reversed for the second run, so the top skiers will go last.

How to watch

Broadcast/streaming schedule (all times Eastern)

Outsideonline.com will show all of the races live while NBC, Peacock and CNBC will have a mix of live and delayed coverage.

12:30 p.m. – First run, women’s giant slalom, outsideonline.com

1 p.m. – Delayed coverage of men’s giant slalom, NBC and Peacock

3:30 p.m. – Second run, women’s giant slalom, outsideonline.com

What’s next?

The women’s slalom Sunday, Nov. 30, closes out four days of World Cup racing at Copper Mountain, and Mikaela Shiffrin will be favored to win it. She has won the first two slaloms of the season, in commanding fashion.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Those were all the consequences of Michigan football’s upset victory over Ohio State on Nov. 30, 2024, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State — who went on to win the 2024-25 College Football Playoff — entered the game with massive expectations, not only its national championship aspirations, but its hopes of avoiding a four-game losing streak to the Wolverines.

Those expectations are even bigger a season later, with the Wolverines in line to potentially make the Big Ten championship and CFP with a win in ‘The Game.’ Ryan Day and Co. may have won a national championship last season, but all Ohio State coaches are ultimately judged by how they fare against ‘That Team Up North.’

One year removed from that scene in Ohio Stadium, here’s what to remember of the brawl that immediately followed ‘The Game’ between Michigan and Ohio State:

Ohio State-Michigan brawl, revisited

Michigan entered the 2024 version of ‘The Game’ as a 19.5-point underdog vs. the Buckeyes, against whom they had won three straight games.

What was initially viewed as a likely beatdown for Ohio State quickly turned into a defensive struggle, with the Wolverines persevering and winning 13-10 with walk-off 21-yard field goal from kicker Dominic Zvada.

Following the field goal, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day and Michigan coach Sherrone Moore shook hands at midfield. Everything seemed like a calm, normal postgame — that is, until Wolverines players walked toward midfield to celebrate with multiple Michigan flags in hand.

After Wolverines players planted a flag at the midfield ‘O’ at the 50-yard line, a scuffle between both teams broke out involving multiple players, lasting about 30 seconds:

During the calm, a Michigan player carried the flag, parading it around the stadium, when Ohio State linebacker Jack Sawyer ripped it away to a loud cheer from the Buckeyes fans. This, naturally, led to more fights.

‘In videos and photos reviewed after the incident, a Michigan officer is seen directing pepper spray at OSU players, and then a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy sprayed into the air toward Michigan players. Players were told to get back.’

Following the fight — which lasted about four minutes — no charges were pressed and the usage of pepper spray was reviewed. The Big Ten fined both schools $100,000 for the fight.

Before the 2025 season, Moore said he had a discussion with his team and that the flags would not be planted in the future. The 2025 matchup takes place in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“There’ll be no more flag-planting,’ Moore said at Big Ten Media Days. ‘There’ll be no more grabbing the flag.”

Day said he has had discussions with his team as well about how to handle such a situation in the future.

Curiously, Michigan and Ohio State weren’t the only teams to have issues with flag-planting during Rivalry Week 2024. A similar situation broke out in Tallahassee, Florida, later that evening after Florida took down rival Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida defensive end George Gumbs Jr. planted the Gators’ flag on the Florida State logo at midfield, leading to a brawl.

FSU coach Mike Norvell grabbed the flag and tossed it on the ground after exchanging words with then-Florida coach Billy Napier. Fights also broke out after North Carolina-North Carolina State and at Arizona State and Arizona, for similar flag-planting incidents.

In December 2024, following last year’s Michigan incident, Ohio introduced a bill to make flag-planting illegal at Ohio State’s stadium. Though it will be another year before ‘The Game’ returns to Columbus, it will be interesting to see how Ohio State — and Michigan — players react should the Buckeyes win.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Texas’s win over Texas A&M will likely not be enough to secure a College Football Playoff spot due to earlier losses.
Mississippi has locked in a playoff berth after defeating Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.
Georgia’s victory against Georgia Tech secures them a spot in the SEC championship game.

It’s too little and too late for No. 16 Texas, which pulled out a 27-17 win against No. 3 Texas A&M but will very likely still be sidelined from the College Football Playoff because of losses to No. 1 Ohio State, Florida and Georgia.

With so many contenders for only so many at-large spots, the Longhorns’ losses will offset three outstanding wins against the Aggies, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 14 Vanderbilt.

How do the Longhorns make the cut? With absolute insanity involving all of the two-loss teams still in the playoff mix, led by No. 10 Alabama.

Possible, sure, but the odds are very low. In the end, the Longhorns will come up short because of the awful and avoidable loss to the Gators.

Now the Aggies wait to see if Auburn can knock off No. 10 Alabama in the Iron Bowl. If so, they’d have a chance to beat No. 4 Georgia and slide back into the top four of the final playoff rankings.

That’s the big fallout from a loss in Austin: A&M now faces the likelihood of coming up short of the top four and having to play in the opening round instead of breezing into the quarterfinals.

The one silver lining is that a playoff berth was guaranteed before Black Friday; the Aggies could even finish at No. 5, which would earn a matchup at home against the Group of Five’s playoff team.

That’s a helpful safety net and a nice way to take the sting out of a rivalry loss. But A&M would rather have two wins against Texas since the series was rekindled last season. Instead, the Aggies have lost both games, and this one will particularly sting with the missed opportunity of reaching their first SEC title games.

The Longhorns and Aggies lead the winners and losers from Black Friday’s college football action:

Winners

Mississippi

Half of the wait is over for No. 6 Mississippi. The Rebels are locked into the playoff after ending the regular season with a 38-19 win in the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. They’re slated to land an at-large berth and be one of the host teams in the opening round. Now, Ole Miss shifts to the wait for Lane Kiffin, who is expected to announce on Saturday whether he’s remaining with the program — such as he did amid Auburn’s interest three years ago — or leaving for an SEC rival in LSU.

Georgia

Combined with No. 3 Texas A&M losing to No. 16 Texas, beating No. 19 Georgia Tech 16-9 will secure No. 4 Georgia a spot in the SEC championship game opposite either Mississippi or No. 10 Alabama depending on what happens in the Iron Bowl. At a minimum, the Bulldogs were able to bolster a résumé worthy of the top four while also dealing the knockout blow to the Jackets’ playoff hopes. Georgia has won eight in a row, three against ranked competition, and is rounding into form defensively just in time to make a run at a third national championship under coach Kirby Smart. But the Gunner Stockton-led offense is struggling and has to clean things up before the postseason.

Utah

No. 14 Utah still has a slim path to the Big 12 championship game after riding a 21-point fourth quarter to a 31-21 win against Kansas. As in last week’s shoutout victory against Kansas State, Utah had to overcome a porous run defense that gave up 290 yards on 5.7 yards per play. From here, the Utes need one of No. 7 Texas Tech or No. 11 Brigham Young to be upset on Saturday by West Virginia or Central Florida, respectively. Even without playing for the conference crown, this represents a highly successful year for Utah coming off last season’s five-win finish and a major reboot on offense.

Iowa

The Hawkeyes’ big-brother bullying of Nebraska continued with a 40-16 road win in Lincoln that plainly illustrates the wide gap still separating these two programs. While each of the previous seven meetings in this series had been decided by a possession, this one was blown open in the second half: Iowa notched a safety early in the third quarter to lead 26-16 and then put the Cornhuskers away with another pair of touchdown drives. Narrow losses to Iowa State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 5 Oregon and No. 20 Southern California will end up defining this season, but blowing out Nebraska allows Iowa to end the year on a very high note.

North Texas

North Texas cruised past Temple 52-25 behind 366 yards and three scores from Drew Mestemaker and will meet No. 23 Tulane for the American championship, assuming the Green Wave beat Charlotte on Saturday. Though this won’t be guaranteed until Tuesday’s penultimate playoff rankings, the winner between the Mean Green and Green Wave is virtually assured of earning the Group of Five’s automatic berth. Coach Eric Morris will leave for Oklahoma State after this season but will coach through the playoff if North Texas makes the bracket.

Losers

Nebraska

Hey, at least Nebraska didn’t lose to Iowa on a late field goal. This was much, much worse. After hanging around Iowa early and getting the breaks they needed to finally notch a win against their rival, the Cornhuskers collapsed in the second half and were run off their home field in the low point of Matt Rhule’s three-year tenure. Amid more preseason hype and a strong start, Nebraska ends the regular season at 7-5, just one game better than last year. The Cornhuskers also went 1-3 after Rhule’s contract extension was announced.

Kansas

This feels like even more of a lost season than last year, when injuries played a bigger role in keeping the Jayhawks short of bowl eligibility. Once 4-2 after beating Central Florida in October, Kansas limped to the finish with five losses in six games. The defense cratered down the stretch, giving up at least 31 points four times in the second half, and the offense committed way too many turnovers — including a pick-six in the fourth quarter on Friday — to pick up the slack.

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